Saturday: Colorectal Cancer Screening Plans Announced

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Samaritan Medical Center, Kinney Drugs and Jefferson Community College are teaming up to provide free testing for colorectal cancer to people 50 and older.

Plans for the free screening were announced Saturday as part of the college's "Super Science Saturday" event. During the event, a 20 foot inflatable colon that people could walk through and learn about colon cancer was dedicated to the late Peter Gaskin, a retired JCC professor who died of colon cancer in 2011.

"It could have been prevented, had he pursued it," said his widow, Barbara Gaskin.

Kinney Drugs has purchased 5,000 screen kits that will be distributed to its stores in Jefferson County, Lowville and Gouverneur. The kits are available starting Monday through March 1.

Samaritan Medical Center will do the testing.

This is the fourth time colorectal screening has been offered to North Country community members free of charge. In 1987, 15000 kits were made available to the public, 10,000 kits in 1989 and 8000 kits were made available in 1997 in third campaign.

"90 percent of all colon cancers can be prevented if people hit their trigger age and go ahead and get tested," said Donald Boshart of the American Cancer Society.

(See the exhibit and learn more about the testing program by clicking on the picture.)